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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Do you pray*? If so, is there a set structure you follow, or do you just sort of say whatever's on your mind? Are there specific existing prayers that you use sometimes, or do you come up with a new one each time?

W/R/T the structure part, I'm particularly interested in how people end their prayers. "Amen" doesn't feel right to me, because it feels like a specifically Christian ending. Variations on "so mote it be" have a similar problem; they feel so Wiccan, and while I respect Wicca and all, it's not what I am. Nothing wrong with either one, they're just not me. I haven't yet come up with something more fitting, though, and just kind of saying what I have to say and not adding any kind of closing feels so incomplete.

(*=I'm aware that there are many, many definitions of the verb "to pray", so I will specify that for the purposes of this thread, I mean it in the most strictly traditional sense, with the words and the addressing deity and all that. Dear God, such and such and such, amen. By so specifying, I do not mean to invalidate or ignore other kinds of prayer; I simply want to address this particular kind specifically and could not think of a way to differentiate other than by using the word "pray" and adding a somewhat lengthy footnote explaining myself.)